The National Research Institute of Legal Policy is administratively subordinate to the Finnish Ministry of Justice but has an independent status. The Institute comprises the Criminological Unit (permanent staff: research director and four researchers) and the General Unit (research director and three researchers). The Criminological Unit provides information on crime and criminality, as well as the functioning of the criminal justice system. Currently, the major topics of interest are crime damages and victimization, statistical analysis of registered crime, self-reported criminality, mediation, the narcotics market, community service, the St. Petersburg crime scene, and research to support the planned total reform of the penal code. The General Unit deals with issues of general legal policy, currently consumer legislation, consumer credits, and debt recovery. Other current topics cover access to legal services, family law, and the development and functions of law as an instrument of social change. This document presents English summaries of the 17 research reports published in the Institute's two publication series in 1999. Figures, notes, tables